Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli has admitted he would have loved to play for Tottenham but the call from the North London club came too late.
Ravanelli had a long and distinguished career, netting 182 goals through the course of his time on the pitch, which spanned from 1986 to 2005 (Transfermarkt).
The Italian is most fondly remembered for his time at Juventus, where he netted 69 goals across his four seasons with the Old Lady.
The 53-year-old also represented the Azzuri with distinction, winning 22 caps for his country, and scoring eight times.
Ravanelli had two different spells in the Premier League, initially spending a season at Middlesbrough in 1996/97 before returning to English football to represent Derby County from 2001 to 2003.
The striker has now admitted that former Spurs chairman Alan Sugar tried to get him to Spurs when he left the Riverside Stadium in 1997 but that he had already agreed to join Marseille at the time.
Ravanelli told The Daily Star: “I would have loved to join Tottenham. At the time they had Teddy Sheringham, who was a symbol of the club, and Sol Campbell.
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“I was in the taxi to go to London airport to sign for Marseille, and then Sugar called me asking me to join Tottenham.
“I would have honestly loved to have stayed in England; Liverpool also wanted me but we didn’t reach an agreement. Tottenham were just late.”
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Based on the various testimonies we have read from former players over recent years, it is clear that Sugar certainly enjoyed a last-minute deal, much like Daniel Levy, although there were a lot more misses than hits in the transfer window during the former’s reign at Tottenham.
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